Oh, i don’t really know how i feel.
The Doctor and Ruby arrive in Wales – which seems to excite the Doctor no end (i guess going to Wales is like going home? And by that i don’t mean a blasted wasteland ultimately destroyed by the Master, i mean the home of BBC Wales, production company in charge of the Whoniverse) – and then seconds later the Doctor has trodden on a fairy circle. Thats two episodes in a row the Doctor has triggered the plot by stepping on something he shouldn’t’ve. Maybe he should go to Specsavers.
Anyway, the Doctor has vanished, and Ruby sees a strange woman standing on the horizon. However, when Ruby tries to approach – maybe she’s seen where the Doc went – then she appears further away. Almost the same distance away, as it turns out. So… is Ruby alone?
Basically what follows is a summary of the rest of Ruby’s life, “abandoned” by the Doctor. And then every person that ever comes in contact with the strange woman, who never leaves but always remains, is suddenly terrified of Ruby for no reason. And this isn’t just randoms in the street – this includes her loving mother.
This episode begins in quite possibly the most unsettling way of all. Forget the disappearance of the Doctor, forget being completely ostracized by everyone you’ve ever loved, forget even being stalked by a mysterious stranger your entire life. No, take away the Doctor Who title sequence and your heart starts to palpitate and your soul threatens to evict itself.
I’m not being funny – i was in a constant state of anxious distress for the whole runtime and its not just because of Millie Gibson’s performance (exceptional as it was) – its because there was no dum-de-dum and a show of the TARDIS spiralling through psychedlic clouds… I actually stopped and rewound to watch the names pop up on the screen like it was an episode of Shetland, and point them out in stunned disbelief to my best friend. This must be one of the only episodes without a titles sequence – if not THE only.
But i mentioned Millie Gibson. Astounding. Its a gamble making your companion the central character, particularly when the actor playing the Doctor is simply phenomenal, but this one plays off. Millie is captivating throughout, and her fear, anguish and eventual complacence was a joy to watch. There is a great journey here, and Ruby’s decision to take life by the horns and make a difference is an showcase of character development.
The whole thing is steeped in folklore, and this is nice considering we were promised a rather more supernatural-centric series… but given that Space Babies and Boom were very distinctly high science fiction, i wasn’t sure if this was an empty declaration or not. I don’t know if the folklore is accurate: i’m not Welsh. Now, if you asked me about the Cait Sith of Dunvegan or the Dithreach of Glen Etive then i’d tell you about salt circles or howling winds – but Welsh folklore is still a mystery. 73 yards – the title and the exact distance to Ruby’s strange apparition – has been stated by RTD as “enough distance so you can’t make out her features (leading to the reveal)” but also “not as long as a football field”, which plays into the plot. This makes me think the 73 yards thing isn’t in the folklore, but i’m certain the fairy circles are. I should say, i absolutely love folklore. Just check out chaosbox.uk for proof!
I’ve said a lot of great things about this episode, which may have led you to the conclusion that i loved it. The simple truth is i loved MOST of it: but the finale and lack of explanation somewhat dirty my opinion. Like… what were the gestures then? Why was the woman gesticulating so? I get it – from a visual point of view, and maybe even from a narrative one, the ending is fine – but those here who are a bit more analytical… well, not so much. However, given that its all a bit weird and fairy-taily, i’m not really going to condemn the episode for being a bit strange.
Above all, Millie Gibson was amazing.
the FANGG of HORROR ROCK 